Japan 2025 - Part 2

Exploring Ginza

 

Sunday - October 5th 2025

 

Sunday morning our Austrian Airlines flight arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport. Once we passed immigration and picked up our luggage, we headed to the Ninja Wi-Fi counter to get our portable wi-fi device for the next two weeks. Then we took the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, the train ride took about an hour, where we stopped at T's Tantan vegetarian restaurant for lunch. We had already been there in 2018 and liked it so much that we had to get our first Japanese meal during this trip here. Afterwards we walked to our hotel, which was conveniently located near Tokyo Station. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready yet, but we could leave out luggage at the hotel. So we headed back out and to battle the jetlag we got a coffee at Starbucks first. Then we just strolled around Ginza and checked out the many shops and the Mitsukoshi Department Store with its cute little rooftop park. Later we got two glasses of beer at the Sapporo Beer Bar before returning to the hotel to check in. 

 

Arriving in Tokyo

 

Narita Express

 

Lunch

 

Daiwa Roynet Kyobashi Hotel

 

Tokyo Ginza

 

Tokyo Ginza

 

Taking a Break at Starbucks

 

Mitsukoshi Department Store

 

Mitsukoshi Department Store

 

Mitsukoshi Department Store

 

Mitsukoshi Department Store

 

Tokyo Ginza

 

Tokyo Ginza

 

Sapporo The Bar

 

Sapporo The Bar

 

Tokyo Ginza

 

Tokyo Ginza

 

Tokyo Ginza Sony Park

 

Tokyo Ginza

 

We stayed at the Daiwa Roynet Kyobashi and although our room was rather small, it was really nice and since we only stayed for one night that was totally fine. After we refreshed and rested for couple of minutes, we went out again to get dinner. We found a nice restaurant, but unfortunately they ran out of the vegetarian options and so we ended up at McDonald's and got fries. We also came across a Krispy Kreme donut shop and of course we couldn't resist and ordered two delicious donuts before returning to the hotel. By now we were really tired and were happy to go to bed. 

 

Daiwa Roynet Kyobashi Hotel

 

Our Room

 

Tokyo Kyobashi

 

Tokyo Kyobashi

 

Tokyo Kyobashi

 

Tokyo Kyobashi

 

Tokyo Kyobashi

 

Tokyo Station

 

Krispy Kreme Donuts

 

Japan 2025 - Part 9

Returning To Tokyo

 

Sunday - October 12th 2025

 

After we got up we headed to our favourite Starbucks in Kyoto. There we got coffee and waffles for breakfast before picking up some snacks at Seven-Eleven for our train ride. Back at the hotel we packed our belongings, checked out and then we were on our way to Kyoto train station. From there we took the Shinkansen bullet train back to Tokyo. About two hours later we arrived at Tokyo Main Station. Like during our last visit in 2018 we stayed at the Sunroute Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, so we had to take another train until we made it to the hotel. Thanks to being a member of the hotel club, our room was already available and to our surprise we got an upgrade to a bigger room.

 

Breakfast

 

Shinkansen

 

Snacks

 

Sunroute Plaze Hotel Shinjuku

 

Our Room

 

After we dropped off our luggage, we headed out again and just strolled around Shinjuku. When we came across a soy milk festival, of course claudia had to try all the different variations of soy milk on offer. Our next stop would have been Shinjuku Gyoen Park, but along the way we passed a lovely bar called Watering Hole and needless to say we had to get a glass of beer before continuing our walk to the park. Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time to visit Gyoen Park, since it was about to close soon, but we managed to take a short stroll through that beautiful park. 

 

Shinjuku

 

Shinjuku

 

Shinjuku

 

Shinjuku

 

Shinjuku

 

Soy Milk Festival

 

Watering Hole

 

Watering Hole

 

Shinjuku

 

Shinjuku Gyoen Park

 

Shinjuku Gyoen Park

 

Shinjuku Gyoen Park

 

Shinjuku Gyoen Park

 

Shinjuku Gyoen Park

Back in Shinjuku we decided to check out the neighbourhood with all its shops and restaurants. To our surprise Shinjuku hadn't changed that much since our last visit in 2018. The shops were pretty crowded and so we stopped at a cool bar under a bridge. We ordered a couple of drinks and some snacks and enjoyed watching people passing by. Later we got hungry and since we wanted Italian food, we tried the 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria outside of Shinjuku Station. There was already a line in front of the restaurant, which meant it had to be good and we weren't disappointed at all. The pizzas were really tasty and so it wasn't our last time there. Afterwards we returned to the hotel and enjoyed a relaxing evening watching TV.

 

Shinjuku

 

Shinjuku

 

Shinjuku

 

Cool Bar

Drinks and Snacks

 

Snacks

Drinks

 

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria

 

Pizza

 

Shinjuku